Pirate Treasure Still Out There

The allure of buried continues to capture our imagination even today. Real treasures from history’s most notorious pirates remain hidden in remote locations around the world, waiting for the right person to discover them. While Hollywood has romanticized the idea of treasure maps marked with an X, the reality is far more complex and fascinating.

The search for these lost hoards spans centuries and continents. From Caribbean islands to rocky coastlines, professional treasure hunters and amateur adventurers alike continue their relentless pursuit of fortune.

The Legendary Blackbeard’s Missing Fortune

Blackbeard’s treasure remains undiscovered, with no verified gold hoards found despite extensive searches. The Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck is the most studied pirate site but has yielded artifacts – not chests of gold. Despite amassing a fortune that modern historians value at $12.5–$100 million in today’s dollars, not a single chest of gold was ever recovered from his flag ship or associated hideouts.

From 1716 to 1718, the pirate Blackbeard traversed the West Indies and Atlantic Coast of North America, attacking ships laden with gold, silver, and other treasures from Mexico and South America on their way back to Spain. Blackbeard is said to have boasted about his buried treasure, but never trusted anyone enough to divulge the secret location.

According to the man himself, His large hoard “lay in a location known only to him and the devil.” The Caribbean Islands, Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, and the caves of the Cayman Islands are treasure locations. The mystery deepens with each failed expedition to locate his wealth.

Captain William Kidd’s Remaining Treasure

Only one pirate is known to have actually buried his treasure: Captain William Kidd, Scottish marauder and famous hider of gold. Over time, it’s said that Kidd collected up to 400,000 British pounds worth of gold. His captors managed to find 10,000 pounds worth of treasure on Gardiner’s Island, off the coast of Long Island, New York, and used it as evidence against him. Kidd attempted to use the location of the rest of his treasure as a bargaining chip. It didn’t work, however, and Kidd was executed in 1701.

To this day, treasure hunters scour the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States in search of Kidd’s remaining buried treasures. A false find in 2015 caused a media frenzy, and today, treasure hunters are hard at work to find the remainder of the loot which is reported to be anywhere from the Caribbean to the east coast of America.

Samuel Bellamy’s Hidden Riches in Maine

The small town of Machiasport, in eastern Maine, may be harboring millions of dollars in valuable treasures that once belonged to the pirate Samuel Bellamy (who some say was the model for Captain Jack Sparrow). Back in 1716, Bellamy and his crew moved to the area, and built a house to hold his treasures. Ultimately, Bellamy died when his flagship Whydah sank in a storm off Cape Cod in 1717, and his treasure has never been located.

If Bellamy’s legendary treasure vault in Machias does exist, it likely lies somewhere south of the bridge that carries Route 1 over the Machias River, and north of what is now Machiasport. When the Whydah wreck was discovered in 1984, it sparked renewed interest in the Bellamy-Machias connection. Despite local searching along the banks of the river, however, no evidence of the fort or the underground chambers have been found – yet, anyway.

The Treasure of Lima Worth Millions

The Treasure of Lima is a legendary buried treasure reputedly removed from Lima, Peru, in 1820 and never recovered. It is estimated to be worth up to £160 million or $208 million in today’s money. In 1820 the Spanish controlled city of Lima in Peru was on the edge of revolt. It was decided that the city’s jewels, gold, and other treasures should be sent to Mexico for safekeeping. Captain William Thompson, commander of the Mary Dear, was put in charge of transporting the riches to Mexico but the temptation of the treasure proved too much for him. Thompson and his crew turned pirate, sailing to Cocos Island off the coast of present day Costa Rica where they buried their loot. Apprehended by a Spanish warship soon afterward, all except Thompson and his first mate were executed for piracy.

The two said they would show the Spaniards where they had hidden the treasure in return for their lives but instead escaped into the Cocos jungle. The £35 million worth of treasure remains buried somewhere on the island. Since that time, hundreds of treasure hunters have travelled to Cocos Island and tried to find the Treasure of Lima, sometimes also referred to as the Loot of Lima, or the Cocos Island Treasure. One of the most notable was the German August Gissler, who lived on the island from 1889 to 1908. Another was the American gangster Bugsy Siegel and yet another was New Zealand explorer Frank Worsley. None succeeded in finding the treasure.

The Oak Island Money Pit Mystery

The Oak Island mystery is stories and legends about buried treasure and unexplained objects found on or near Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The site consists of digs by numerous individuals and groups of people. The original shaft, the location of which is unknown today, was dug by early explorers, and is known as “the money pit”. Since the 18th century, attempts have been made to find treasure and artifacts.

If the Oak Island Money Pit contains gold and jewels as some researchers suggest, its estimated worth could exceed $250 million. Theories about the pit’s origins range from pirate treasure buried by Captain Kidd to hidden religious artifacts like the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. If the Oak Island Money Pit contains gold and jewels as some researchers suggest, its estimated worth could exceed $250 million.

A curse on the treasure is said to have originated more than a century ago and states that seven men must die before the treasure can be found, though six deaths have been documented so far. Exploration by the Lagina brothers has been documented in the reality television show The Curse of Oak Island, airing on History since 2014.

Thomas Cavendish’s Hawaiian Fortune

Palemano Point, an exposed reef break off Hawaii’s Big Island, might just be the site of over $5 million in pirate treasure. According to the book Hawaii’s Unsolved Mysteries, Captain Thomas Cavendish was a 16th-century English privateer whose career may have eventually led him to bury some of his extensive silver and gold riches at the Point.

The location remains largely unexplored by modern treasure hunters. Hawaii’s unique geography and volcanic activity may have helped preserve any buried treasure for centuries. The remote nature of Palemano Point makes it an ideal hiding place that few would think to investigate.

Jean Lafitte’s Gulf Coast Hoards

Jean Lafitte, a notorious pirate and privateer, commanded a fleet along the Gulf Coast, particularly around Louisiana and Texas, in the early 19th century. Operating from bases such as Barataria Bay and later Galveston Island, Lafitte amassed substantial wealth through smuggling, piracy, and the illicit slave trade. As pressure from U.S. authorities mounted, Lafitte and his men were forced to abandon their strongholds. Before leaving Galveston in 1821, they reportedly buried vast amounts of treasure in undisclosed locations along the Gulf Coast.

Over the years, numerous legends have emerged about the possible locations of Lafitte’s hidden wealth. The vastness of the Gulf Coast region provides countless hiding spots where treasure could remain undisturbed.

Amaro Pargo’s Missing Chest

Amaro Pargo was a Spanish pirate turned privateer who lived from the late 17th century into the first half of the 18th century. He dominated the route between Cádiz and the Caribbean, mainly attacking ships belonging to enemies of the Spanish Crown. He was known as a kind of Spanish Robin Hood, since he gave many of his plundered spoils to the poor, and was as popular as figures such as Blackbeard and Sir Francis Drake. Pargo was eventually the richest man of the Canary Islands.

However, in his will, he wrote about a chest with a carved wood pattern on the lid which he kept in his cabin. He explained that the chest contents were itemised in a book wrapped in parchment and marked with the letter ‘D’. However, he didn’t tell anyone where the book was. Treasure hunters have scoured every location imaginable in search of the treasure, but have discovered nothing.

Recently Discovered Treasures Prove Hope Remains

It is the only pirate treasure ever found. Forbes estimates the ship’s 200,000 artifacts, which include African jewelry, muskets, gold belt buckles and 60 cannons, to be worth more than $100 million. The Whydah Galley, discovered in 1984, demonstrates that major pirate treasures can still be found after centuries underwater.

When famed pirates overtook a Portuguese ship in 1721 once laden with treasure (now valued over $138 million), the battle went well for the pirates, who eventually sank the ship off the coast of Madagascar. A pair of American archaeologists now claim they’ve discovered the final site of the lost vessel. The loot – dubbed “an eye-watering treasure, even by pirate standards,” according to the hunters – would fetch at least $138 million in today’s money, they pair claimed, with records noting gold and silver bars, coins, silks, and more than 400 gemstones, including 110 diamonds and 250 emeralds were reportedly aboard.

Modern Technology Changes the Search

Today’s treasure hunters employ sophisticated equipment that would astound pirates of old. Ground-penetrating radar, underwater metal detectors, and remote sensing technology have revolutionized how searches are conducted. It is believed that only 10% of the claimed treasure is accounted for, and dive teams continue their relentless search in the waters off the Cape to this day.

Satellite imaging and marine archaeology techniques allow researchers to identify potential wreck sites with unprecedented accuracy. Computer modeling can predict where currents might have carried treasure-laden vessels centuries ago.

Legal Challenges Face Modern Treasure Hunters

If you discover hidden, lost, or abandoned treasure, then you are allowed to keep it. The only way someone could claim it is if they can prove that they were the original owner of the treasure. However, maritime law and international regulations complicate underwater discoveries.

After December 2010, the departments repealed the treasure-trove license and replaced it with an Oak Island Treasure Act. The act, which became effective on January 1, 2011, allows treasure hunting to continue on the island under the terms of a licence issued by the Minister of Natural Resources. Each jurisdiction has different rules governing treasure hunting activities.

The Psychology Behind the Endless Hunt

Still, rumors and legends of massive troves of pirate treasure are the subjects of treasure hunts that continue to this day. The appeal extends beyond mere financial gain. Treasure hunting represents adventure, history, and the possibility of solving centuries-old mysteries.

While some buried treasures have been found, there’s still plenty just waiting to be discovered by metal detector, shovel, or puzzle-solving mind. Are you brave (and patient) enough to venture out in search of lost wealth? The question continues to drive modern adventurers to remote locations worldwide.

Future Discoveries Await

Yes, there are a lot of lost treasures scattered throughout the U.S. that have not yet been found. While the country has a history that is not as long as some of the other countries in the world, it is still an area with a very rich history. Throughout the turmoil of the past few hundred years, there are plenty of treasures that have been lost along the way.

The combination of historical research, advanced technology, and persistent human curiosity ensures that more pirate treasures will eventually surface. Each discovery validates the dreams of countless treasure hunters who refuse to give up their search.

As we advance further into the digital age, artificial intelligence and machine learning may help identify patterns in historical documents that human researchers have missed. The golden age of treasure hunting may still lie ahead of us.

What makes these ongoing searches so compelling is their connection to real historical figures who lived extraordinary lives on the high seas. These weren’t fictional characters but actual people who accumulated vast wealth through daring and often ruthless means, then vanished into history leaving only tantalizing clues behind.

What do you think about it? Tell us in the comments.